Greenwood man indicted for extortion and theft against Hispanic community members

Wednesday

Jun 12, 2013 at 2:50 PMJun 13, 2013 at 5:39 PM

Attorney General Beau Biden announced on June 12 that his office has secured a criminal indictment charging 47-year-old Jose G. Oyola of Greenwood with extortion and theft against members of the Sussex County Hispanic community.

Staff Report

Attorney General Beau Biden announced on June 12 that his office has secured a criminal indictment charging 47-year-old Jose G. Oyola of Greenwood with extortion and theft against members of the Sussex County Hispanic community.

In 2010, Biden's office began receiving reports of the targeting of local immigrants by Oyola. Initial complaints began when staff from the AG's Consumer Protection Unit were approached at the 2010 Hispanic Festival in Millsboro. The AG's office and the Delaware State Police teamed up and, throughout the two-year investigation, nearly two dozen victims were identified.

At the time of the investigation, Oyola was a middle school teacher for the Woodbridge School District and served as coordinator for the English as a Second Language Program sponsored by Sussex Adult Education. In these capacities, Oyola had daily contact with a large number of immigrant families from central and western Sussex County.

The indictment, secured from the Sussex County Grand Jury on June 10, alleges Oyola targeted individuals from Delaware's immigrant community by using his position and his standing in the community to secure large sums of monies for services that he promised but never provided, and then threatened to have the victims deported if they did not cooperate with him. These services include filing tax returns and securing legal residency and work visas.

Oyola was arrested on April 18 and was released on $22,500 unsecured bond. His arraignment is expected in the coming days.

For a complete report, see the June 19 edition of The Sussex Countian.